Franklin Reporter » Kevin Waltershttp://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine
The TennesseanFri, 18 Feb 2011 15:55:00 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6I-65 sound barriers and Redwing Meadowshttp://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/2011/02/18/i-65-sound-barriers-and-redwing-meadows/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/2011/02/18/i-65-sound-barriers-and-redwing-meadows/#commentsFri, 18 Feb 2011 15:53:16 +0000Kevin Waltershttp://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/?p=824Crews have been at work for weeks now on widening a portion of Interstate 65 between the Goose Creek Bypass and Hwy 96. As part of that work, trees along the interstate near the Redwing Meadows subdivision have been cut down – a fact that has raised the ire of neighbors.

While the trees are coming down, sound barriers will be installed in the project, just not to the Redwing Meadows subdivision.

“There are sound walls on the project, but they don’t extend to this neighborhood,” said B.J. Doughty, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.

Back in 2009, I wrote about how the I-65 roadwork entails adding approximately a mile of noise-reduction barriers near the Riverview subdivision just past the Redwing Meadows subdivision.

Estimates show approximately ten 500-foot sections of sound barriers would be built along the road.

Jim Ozment, manager of the National Environmental Policy Act office of TDOT, told me that deciding which homes get the sound barrier involves calculating levels of traffic noise, the age of homes and cost.

Federal law requires road planners to study noise levels on federally funded road projects and consider ways to curb the sound with noise barriers. Homes where noise levels exceed 66 decibels are considered to be impacted.

That said, what about the removal of the trees which offered Redwing residents some measure of noise reduction?

Doughty says the trees were cleared because the contractor needs room to work. In the interim, Doughty said TDOT has contacted residents and are exploring tree plantings, installing a berm and other actions. She said a meeting with Redwing residents should happen next month but no date has been set.

If you read my story last week you know outgoing Franklin Mayor John Schroer favors paying future city mayors an actual salary and not $800-a-month (plus $20 per meeting) . It’s an interesting proposition that’s been brought up before, but won’t likely happen any time soon considering how reluctant the current (and previous) elected officials seem to the idea. It’s an idea that might be ahead of its time. But it’s something forward-looking city officials ought to at least discuss.

Considering his past for shaking things up – at least when it came to Franklin – will there be shake-ups, policy-wise at TDOT? I broached the topic of creating toll roads in Tennessee, since that legislation is already in place. It’s a topic that Schroer told me he and Gov. Bill Haslam have discussed. He said Haslam’s not interested in pursuing toll roads, but Schroer said he could envision supporting a toll road project, though there would have to be conditions.

In Schroer’s words, “the stars have to align” for a toll road to happen.

“The governor has expresses his concern about toll roads,” Schroer told me. “I think there may be the possibility that there might the right situation but it would have to be done on the exact perfect job, and I’m not sure we have that in place. It will be something that we have to broach carefully and it will have to be on a project that receives overwhelming large public support. ”

“I have not decided yet,” said Gregory, whose late father was a longtime elected officials. “At this point, it’s 50/50.”

The Tuesday Feb. 8 Board of Mayor & Aldermen is the only BOMA meeting of the month. Why? Mayor Ken Moore is going to be out of town on a previously scheduled vacation. I haven’t seen an agenda yet for the meeting, but I’m betting there will be lots of possible stories.

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/2011/01/31/schroer-on-toll-roads-election-11-boma/feed/0Franklin city election 2011: Aldermen candidateshttp://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/2011/01/20/franklin-city-election-2010-aldermen-candidates/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/2011/01/20/franklin-city-election-2010-aldermen-candidates/#commentsThu, 20 Jan 2011 13:50:22 +0000Kevin Waltershttp://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/?p=812While the mayor’s slot might be the highest-profile post of the five positions up for election, it’s the aldermen-at-large positions where the real power lies.

Franklin’s eight aldermen (four ward, four at large) are the ones who vote on city resolutions, ordinances, etc. (The city mayor only votes in the event of a tie. With a vacancy likely on the board until October, that leaves seven aldermen. Don’t expect a tie unless one alderman is absent or must recuse him/herself.)

Assuming incoming city Mayor Ken Moore follows through on running for mayor and not for re-election as an aldermen, the city’s current aldermen at large – Clyde Barnhill, Pearl Bransford, and Ann Petersen — all say they want to run for re-election. They were all elected in 2007.

So who else might be pondering a run?

Horse-stable owner and Myles Manor resident David Landrum says he plans to run for election this year. Greg Caesar, who ran for Ward 3 alderman in 2009, has

“I ran in 2009 with the intent of serving the community and that hasn’t changed,” said Caesar.

April 22 is the first day a qualifying petition can be picked up for the city elections. The qualifying deadline for the October election is July 21.

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/2011/01/20/franklin-city-election-2010-aldermen-candidates/feed/2Franklin city election 2011: Early candidates for Mayorhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/2011/01/18/city-election-2010-early-candidates-for-mayor/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/2011/01/18/city-election-2010-early-candidates-for-mayor/#commentsTue, 18 Jan 2011 15:45:52 +0000Kevin Waltershttp://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/?p=809Next week, Mayor John Schroer officially steps down as Franklin mayor and Alderman Ken Moore will be sworn in as Franklin’s mayor for the next nine months. Moore, who was elected as an alderman at large in 2007, is the city’s vice mayor and will be Franklin’s 31st mayor.

Moore is also saying he’s going to run to be elected as mayor in the Oct. 25 election.

Who else might be thinking about it? Consider former city solid waste director Joe Williams.

Williams says he’s not closing the door on making a run as mayor. Williams was the city’s longtime solid waste department director and, in 2009, got a $2 million settlement Franklin officials to drop a federal lawsuit he filed against the city related to his being fired.

Williams was erroneously accused of downloading pornographic images onto city laptop computers. City officials later cleared Williams of any wrongdoing.

“Three years ago I thought I knew what the future held,” said Williams, who works as a consultant now. “I was very wrong. I no longer make assumptions about what I’ll be doing in the future.”

April 22 is the first day a qualifying petition can be picked up for the city elections. The qualifying deadline for the October election is July 21.

All the partners would say, I think, that they’ve made substantial progress in a year’s time. And, I think, that there’s still a long way to go.

Case in point: Today, the Tennessee Solar Institute committed more than $7.2 million in Solar Innovation Grants to fund 37 projects throughout the state to spur growth in the state’s emerging solar value chain. A total of 21 Tennessee businesses, representing eight of the nine U.S. congressional districts in the state, were awarded grants.

Yet with $7.2 million on the table, there were no applications from businesses in Franklin or Williamson County to apply for the grant, said Chris Davis TSI spokesman.

But all hope isn’t lost: There’s an additional $7.2 million still out there from TSI. While a tight January deadline is looming (don’t all deadlines loom?) there is still time for some enterprising company (or government entity) to make a play for some of that funding. If you’re interested, go right here and check it out

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/2010/12/10/first-round-of-green-solar-money-didnt-go-to-franklin/feed/0Rumor mill: Schroer being considered for cabinet position?http://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/2010/12/03/rumor-mill-schroer-being-considered-for-cabinet-position/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/2010/12/03/rumor-mill-schroer-being-considered-for-cabinet-position/#commentsFri, 03 Dec 2010 20:57:44 +0000Kevin Waltershttp://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/?p=791Have you heard the rumor that Tennessee Gov.-elect Bill Haslam is considering Franklin Mayor John Schroer as the next commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development?

That’s a rumor I heard – and Schroer has heard it, too. Schroer didn’t distance himself from the rumors, and he didn’t address them, either.

Schroer has said previously he plans to run for re-election as mayor next October.

He’s been a supporter of Haslam’s – most notably during a fund-raiser where Schroer and Haslam talked about, among other things, the Mack Hatcher Parkway extension project. All told, the Schroers gave $6,074.37 in in-kind and financial contributions to Haslam’s gubernatorial election campaign.

As for economic development, Schroer’s frequently touted the city’s emphasis on E.D. during his three years, so far, whether it be the “streetscape” city project which its supporters say will bring in more private investments to Franklin, or in corporate recruitment of firms like Jackson National Life Insurance Co.

But does that mean Schroer’s a lock for the job? No, of course not.

Tom Ingram, who’s leading Haslam’s campaign transition team,said all discussions about appointments are just rumors until Haslam makes his picks. Haslam will be sworn in Jan. 15.

Haslam named on Friday Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey as deputy governor and chief of staff. More announcements are expected this week.

He says the transition team is literally getting hundreds if not thousands of resumes and applications.

“All I can I tell you is it’s a rumor until Bill announces otherwise,” Ingram said. “There’s a lot of rumors and almost all of them are not reliable.”

As for people who might be campaigning for the jobs, Ingram doesn’t give them much chance.

“If someone’s campaigning for themselves you can pretty well assume it’s not going to happen,” Ingram said. “If It’s just a rumor because he’s a great person like the mayor is, it’s just too early to rely on it.”

Finally, a humble “mea culpa” in the length of time between blog posts. I’ve been meaning to post more but other projects have taken up my time.

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/2010/12/03/rumor-mill-schroer-being-considered-for-cabinet-position/feed/0Maybe Franklin isnt so well-behavedhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/2010/10/13/maybe-franklin-isnt-that-well-behaved/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/2010/10/13/maybe-franklin-isnt-that-well-behaved/#commentsWed, 13 Oct 2010 16:04:06 +0000Kevin Waltershttp://blogs.tennessean.com/franklinsunshine/?p=783Two weeks ago, Franklin city aldermen sang the praises of residents’ behavior at city meetings. They were so effusive, in fact, that they shot down a city staff request to create a decorum policy. To recap, Franklin residents didn’t talk out of order at public meetings, they weren’t rude, they weren’t disruptive and they were respectful of each other.

While all those things may be true, I’m hoping that Franklin Mayor John Schroer and city aldermen pay close attention to this story about the outbursts that erupted this week during a Franklin Special School Board meeting. Reporter Maria Giordano said the meeting – which is not related to the city, by the way – boiled over at various points (with FSSD chairwoman Sherry Badger saying at one point, “Don’t make me use my mama voice on you!” which might be the quote of the year) which is a shame. If an issue is divisive enough, anything can happen. Will incidents like this one at FSSD – or the recent public outcry at Williamson County school rezoning meetings – cause Franklin to reconsider throwing out talk of having rules of decorum? Doubtful. Would rules prevent incidents? Again, doubtful.

As someone who has seen public meetings take turns for the worse, I’m glad Franklin now posts a police officer in its aldermen meetings. A little safety goes a long way. Maybe some clear rules on decorum would help too.

Also: Three years to the month that former Franklin Mayor Tom Miller was voted out of office as mayor, he was back in City Hall this week to attend Tuesday’s city of Franklin meeting to watch his wife Lydia get a certificate as a new graduate from the city’s Citizens Government Academy. He’s lost 63 pounds in three years’ time, he’s been contacted about possibly running for a new statehouse seat next year (if the Census numbers warrant a new seat) and seemed happy to see the aldermen. (A funny moment: Miller and Schroer didn’t chit-chat, though. Schroer and Miller ran what you could call a go-for-the-throat mayoral race. Just before the meeting started, Schroer asked Miller to take a seat so the meeting could start.)

I didn’t ask Miller if he’s pondering a run for mayor next year because it is still 12 months away from happening. But Miller did tell me: “Don’t you think it’s about time I started coming to more of these meetings?”

Safe to say, people here love to get their Halloween on. I like the candy.

It’s funny, then, that Franklin’s city charter doesn’t exactly allow Halloween festivities to happen – at least not for those of you older than 10 years old. Here’s the city regulation on wearing masks:

“It shall be unlawful for any person to appear on or in any public way or place while wearing any mask, device, or hood whereby any portion of the face is so hidden or covered as to conceal the identity of the wearer. The following are exempted from the provisions of this section:

(1)Children under the age of ten years.

(2)Workers while engaged in work wherein a face covering is necessary for health and/or safety reasons.

By my reading, the charter says that that if you’re 11 (or a fortysomething) and you’re going to a party as, say, Frankenstein or as Charlie Brown’s ghost (a sheet with two holes in it and a bag of rocks) then you need a special permit to legally do so. I think this would also include Santa.

So, given the attention and expense of Halloween, should Franklin’s charter be changed then? I know it’s nit-picky but still some might argue that the regulations are in effect for a reason and thus should be enforced. Would you want to see people being cited for dressing as Charlie Brown and/or Frankenstein?

Before you say it, yes, I know I look like Charlie Brown and Frankenstein.

One of those firefighters is Lt. Ricky Cotton who split a $500,000 settlement with fellow firefighter Greg Baltimore back in 2007. Cotton alleged years of racial discrimination. Last March, Cotton filed another suit, alleging that he has been subjected to a retaliatory and hostile work environment. Cotton is also claiming he was unfairly denied a promotion because of his involvement in the 2006 case.

A federal jury in Nashville is slated to hear opening arguments on Oct. 5. City Administrator Eric Stuckey told me that the city plans to defend itself in court.

Meantime, former Franklin firefighter Gairy Ferguson, who now lives in Georgia, alleges in his suit filed in 2008 that he received less-favorable assignments than his white counterparts and was denied training and advancement opportunities because of his race. Records show several trial dates were put aside in favor of judicial mediation. That session occurred Thursday but no deal was reached.

Ferguson’s attorney says he’s preparing to file a motion to go to trial.

First up, Franklin city officials will meet Wednesday night with anyone who had flood damage – which could be hundreds of property owners – and who want the city to buy their land, homes or property. I don’t think that hundreds will show up, mind you, but they could.

Last but not least, a reader pointed out the coyote coverage in a recent story. I want to clarify what exactly happened with coyotes that prompted Franklin crews to set out a cage to trap Franklin’s coyotes. Here’s city Parks Director Lisa Clayton: “In (the) month of July, a park user was approached while walking his dogs in the park by a coyote. This experience was very unsettling for the park user and a week later, a woman and her dogs was also approached by the coyote which showed some aggressiveness toward her pets. Coyotes have been seen in most parks within Franklin over the past 3 to 4 years. It has not been until recently that small cubs were seen in the park (EFBP) and the Parks Department personnel assume the coyotes are more tamed than ever; therefore, posing a more (threatening) atmosphere for park users.”